Distributed content is a general term used to describe electronic media that is distributed to end users. Examples of distributed content include webpages, websites, dynamically generated content, cellular telephones using wireless application protocol (WAP) to serve content on the cellular telephone screen, and so forth. Other examples of distributed content are known to persons of ordinary skill in the art. Because there is a high demand for adapting distributed content to the end users' needs, distributed content administrators (administrators) need high-quality feedback on the distributed content pages they administer. Due to the anonymity of distributed content users (users), reliable user feedback regarding the distributed content pages can be difficult to obtain.
One of the problems associated with obtaining user evaluations of distributed content is that users do not give consistent feedback. Often, a user will only give feedback when the user has had a particularly difficult time navigating the distributed content. While these types of comments are useful to administrators in removing distributed content that is difficult to use, such comments do not convey information regarding other distributed content end users have viewed. Therefore, a need exists for a method for a user to obtain user evaluations of all of the administered distributed content.
A second problem associated with user evaluation of distributed content is that the user is sometimes presented with a single user evaluation form or survey to use in evaluating a plurality of distributed content pages. When a user evaluates a plurality of distributed content pages on a single survey, the user tends to remember more information about the most recently navigated pages and less information about the first pages. Thus, the survey does not adequately represent the user's evaluation of the entire distributed content, but rather the user's evaluation of the distributed content pages immediately preceding the survey. A survey that weighs the user's evaluation of more recently navigated content is called a back-loaded survey. Back-loaded surveys are not preferable because they do not adequately reflect the user's qualitative experience of the entire distributed content. Therefore, a need exists for a method of capturing a user's evaluation of distributed content in which the user's evaluation evenly reflects the user's experience in navigation of the entire set of distributed content.
A third problem associated with user evaluation of distributed content is that the survey is sometimes presented before the user has completed his navigation of the distributed content. When the survey is placed at the end of the user's navigation of the distributed content (i.e. after user selection of service, payment, and receipt of the confirmation number), users frequently do not complete the survey. Rather than complete the survey, the majority of users choose to close the distributed content application. In order to increase the number of completed surveys, administrators position the survey so that it appears before the user has completed his navigation of the distributed content (i.e. after user selection of services but prior to payment). When a survey is completed prior to conclusion of the user navigation of the distributed content, the evaluation is said to be front-loaded. Front-loaded evaluations are not preferable because they do not capture a complete picture of the user's evaluation of the distributed content. Therefore, a need exists for a method of capturing a user's evaluation of distributed content after the user has completed his navigation of the distributed content.
In addition to the disadvantages discussed above, surveys also have another disadvantage: the survey is a standard document applied to a wide variety of distributed content users. In other words, the surveys cannot be configured for specific users in the United States, Mexico, Asia, or Europe. The prior art surveys also cannot differentiate users who view one version or type of the distributed content from users who view another version or type of distributed content. If a survey were able to differentiate between different types of users and the distributed content they view or use, then the survey could be customized for each type of user. Customizing the survey to each type of user would make the responses in the survey more meaningful. Therefore, a need exists for a method for surveying distributed content users in which the survey can be configured according to the characteristics and navigation experiences of individual users or groups of users.
In addition to the disadvantages associated with surveys, it is preferable to track the external stimuli presented to the user. External stimuli are data useful to distributed content administrators, but not directly related to the user's evaluation of the distributed content. One example of an external stimulus is the medium by which the user accessed the distributed content. Possible medium sources include the World Wide Web, email, telephone, television, and so forth. Another example of an external stimulus is the tactic used to contact or market to the user. Persons of ordinary skill in the art have developed a technique for tracking marketing tactics by assigning a unique ID to each message provided to a user. The ability to store the external stimuli data with the user survey would make the user surveys more meaningful to distributed content administrators. Therefore, a need exists for a method for surveying distributed content in which the external stimuli presented to the user is captured in conjunction with the user evaluation.
Consequently, a need exists in the art for an improved method for user evaluation of distributed content. A need exists for a method in which the user can identify the distributed content that is difficult to use and distributed content that is easy to use. A need exists for a method of capturing a user's evaluation of distributed content in which the user's evaluation evenly reflects the user's experience in navigation of the entire distributed content. A need exists for a method of capturing a user's evaluation of distributed content after the user has completed his navigation of the distributed content. A need extends to a method for surveying distributed content users in which the survey can be configured for individual users. Finally, a need exists for a method for surveying distributed content in which the external stimuli presented to the user is captured in conjunction with the user evaluation.